A township council in southern Ontario voted to remove two tigers, Jagger and Aspen, from a residential property because Zohaib Masood has been keeping the two one-year-old tigers in the Niagara region since last fall. Masood rescued the tigers from owners in Ontario who had acquired them as pets but then could not manage them. Voting was conducted after security concerns were raised as the area is residential. Mayor Brian Grant said the administration does not have the resources to deal with any untoward situation in case the tigers escape or a fire occurs. “God forbid there’s a mess on the property and our fire department has to go out there to put out a fire or something and there’s one of these animals running around,” the mayor said. Masood said they have kept the tigers behind several layers of fencing and some of the barriers are as high as 16 feet. Several doors had to be opened before anyone could reach the enclosure, he said, adding that the tigers showed no interest in escaping. All zoo guidelines are being followed, Masood said, although Monday is the last day to relocate the two tigers, the council told him. Jaeger and Aspen are hybrids of Bengal and Siberian tigers. Jagger weighs about 300 pounds and Aspen weighs about 250 pounds, the Winnipeg Sun reports. “They love each other,” Massoud said. “They can no longer be separated.”“When you understand their behavior and what to do and what not to do, you understand them,” he told the National Post. “They’re big strong animals, but we know their personality and you know how to run them.”Masood said he wanted to create a private sanctuary for rescued exotic animals. He said he is trying to find another home for the animals. The tiger habitat was not accessible to the public and there were no benefits involved. It was a self-funded project and its aim was only to save animals. Masood was also raising a four-month-old male white tiger cub named Atlas and a 10-month-old male spotted hyena named Merlin at his Wainfleet property. But he was seized by Ontario Animal Welfare Services last November because he was not receiving proper food, drinking water or care. Massoud recently lost his bid to bring back Atlas and Merlin.